Cal and crew (including the occasional Colton) continue playing the game ... ball is life! The guys tried out a Gene Fullmer league during the summer, but that was a mistake, as it was pretty much a rec league. These guys need at least semi-competitive ... so it was back to Taylorsville, where there are some teams that can at least give them a challenge.
I didn't make it to all the games, but I went to a few.
As the high school season ended, the "off-season" starts up. The Wolves were getting back together for a final season, the West Jordan team had some games, a clinic, a carwash ... and Colton got an invite to Metro, a club/college recruitment team. While it was a great opportunity, we didn't feel it was in the cards for Spring 2022 - but he will be playing with them next year after high school basketball ends.
The Wolves got new jerseys and started up with Thursday night practices. As all the Wolves except Colton will be seniors next year, they are playing in the Varsity division. They had some ball in Spring, Summer and Fall. For West Jordan there was some post-season play with the "new" Varsity squad, Colton (and Ethan/Carter) are playing up with the seniors. Colton got an invite (from Coach Sawyer) to step in on a St. George team (Ignite) playing JV (his age group) and then played way up, when Callahan's men's league team needed a sub. I didn't make it to all the games, but tried to hit the ones that were closer to home. Video links are posted where highlight reels were made.
March 18/19 Wolves at Riverbend (3 games) Highlights from one game HERE
April 1/2 Wolves at Jordan/Alta (Colton didn't play, PROM priority)
April 11 ... West Jordan Basketball Banquet at the High School
April 15/16 Wolves at Riverbend (3 games)
April 27/28/29 Wolves at Riverbend (3 games) vs Premiere
April 28/29 Ignite at Riverbend/Sport City (5 games)
Cooper's Crew in 2022 ... Dixon Davis, Jacob Earl, Ryan Van Lewen, Hunter Olchewsky, Bridger Magelby, Caleb Cox ... and Cooper Blackham (no #4, Mommy likes her boys to have "their" number!) Coach was Carter Davis, not much older than the boys.
Cooper played several seasons of Junior Jazz, but he really prefers just playing for fun, not anything competitive. Even rec ball would get a little stressful for him, and there was more than one season where he bowed out early. Here's a peek (links to posts) at his previous basketball days...
So it had been over three years since he'd played Junior Jazz with his buddies. Although he'd seen them, and even played some pickup ball here and there, Coop had transferred schools and didn't see his old crew that often. He had been asked, and said no, to playing Junior Jazz in recent years. I was pretty surprised when he said he was signing up for his senior year (does that make it Senior Jazz?)
They practiced at the Taylorsville Rec Center on Thursday nights at 5:30, which was a bit of a challenge to get to with his work (usually getting off a little after 5:00). Games were Saturdays at Hunter High School (one switched to Magna, Mom had him get a ride to that one as that drive is a bit out of her comfort zone). Mom did try to attend most of the other games, coming with camera in hand, just like the old days. Coop missed a couple of the games mid-season (skin issues/anxiety issues) and while he enjoyed practices, he would stress about the upcoming games. It was a bit of a relief when the season was over. Hopefully there will still be some pickup games in the future.
They won the game in the picture above (and video below) ...
They lost more than they won - but it's all about just having fun!
Here's two more highlight reels (February 26, 2022 & March 5, 2022). These were the two final games of the season and very similar in that the first half was rough, with the ball not going in the hoop. The boys managed to do a lot better in the second half of both games.
Colton had a great sophomore season with the West Jordan Jags. There was a solid senior presence, filling seven varsity spots. Several of these boys had been playing together since the 5th grade. Although Colton was a sophomore, he didn't play any sophomore games, but was saved for JV and Varsity. As mentioned in the post about Freshman year, Coach Sawyer had left West Jordan (but he and the school will remain True Blue!) and Christian Wouden was named head coach.
Here's a link to the JV playlist (11 highlight videos). Because the HUDL hit the highlights of the varsity games, and while Colton got quite a bit of playing time, it wasn't as much as in the JV games, I didn't make as many varsity videos. I made a Colton Clips video of the Murray game, and one from the Holiday preseason (WJ vs WoodsX @ JuanDiego). There was an early game against Olympus (the team lost, but Colton did really well - nabbed some HUDL video as I hadn't been there in person) and then the super exciting Battle of the Belt rivalry game of WJ vs CHHS that KSL broadcast. The KSL stream with commentary is fun, but the various school streams were appreciated as family would often watch from home ... including Jen, after she knocked herself silly and wasn't able to get out for a month or so.
One of the parents was always taking pictures and got quite a few good shots.
The win against CHHS was HUGE!
... more team shots
While Covid continued, it didn't impact the season the way it had the previous year. There weren't limitations on tickets (although WJ and several other school would ONLY use digital purchases, no cash or credit card at entrance) and masks weren't required. We didn't have any games cancelled, and the social stuff (like team dinners, concessions) resumed.
... and a few photos from the team dinners.
We hosted serving homemade personal pizzas at the end of January.
... Colton even made one of the pictures in the little local paper.
#2 is still playing ball. I wasn't really aware of it until one of the other mom's posted a picture on Instagram. I had to bug Cal for his schedule. They were playing at Taylorsville Rec Center, and I'm okay driving there. It was fun to see him play again, and I knew most of the other guys as well. The team would shift up a bit from week to week as the guys couldn't make it some weeks and would get others to fill in.
According to the schedule, they were the "Gobots". They started out with mix-and-match jerseys, some from the old CHHS days, others from elsewhere. During their first game, they were penalized a few points for "not-matching" (never heard of that, if they'd happened to be the home/white team, it wouldn't have been an issue) ... and then they lost that game ... by exactly those penalized points. Stockton Short's mom was able to quickly rustle up a jersey order and get them some matching uniforms for the rest of the season.
I made it to several games, and got some video ... here's highlights from one game.
They ended up in the championship game, but lost by two points ... still got a shirt though!
Callahan then played in some tournaments up in Lehi, at the Karl Malone Training Center (Colton has played there a lot). Often, several games in a weekend, or even in a day.
The official basketball season wrapped up in February, but there was NO downtime. Colton was playing again immediately, as his Wolves got back together, and he continued playing for West Jordan (Showtime during the Spring/Summer months). Lots of practices and lots of games ... here's a little excerpt from my journal on Saturday, March 20th
FIVE games today (really six, but two were at the same time, so he missed one). The first was at 12:00 at the RedBarn ... and it was raining! The boys (Wolves) got beat pretty bad. Home for a bit then #5 and I headed out for his 4:00 game. Summit Academy High School ... first time at this location. Close to where I used to work with CK. That one started late, as there were no refs for a while. Not sure what happened there. Luckily it was okay, as we didn't have another game right after. The boys/Wolves won that, which meant another game at 6:00 at Sport City. We all just went straight there, no rush, but no time to do anything else. #5 had a 7:00 game with Showtime, which was going to be easy (based on previously playing that team) so we asked Coach Sawyer if he was okay with #5 being late, and he was fine with that - so #5 got to stay and play to the end, and it was close right up to the end, but the Wolves got the win. We then rushed to the 7:00 game, and they were doing fine. 20-5 when we arrived. Easy win. Then Showtime had a tough semi-final game at 9:00, and Wolves had a championship game at 9:00. We felt like we had to stay with Showtime, and Showtime got the win against Mountain Ridge. So we'll play again on Monday for the championship. The Wolves got the win, even without #5. Yea! Good basketball day, although long! #5's heel was hurting at the end.
So both the Wolves and Showtime won their respective championships in March (March Madness Tourney for the Wolves, State AAU/Freshman for Showtime). Most of these games were local (Summit, Sport City, Jordan High) and I was there and filming ... I'm not sure why I don't have highlights from any of these games. I think I was still a bit behind on the high school season and was giving that priority. At the end of the month (March 26/27/28) the Wolves headed to St. George for a tournament there.
April was busy with more practices and games for both teams as well as the end of year banquet for the Jags, saying farewell to the seniors and recapping the season. It was held at the school in the cafeteria. With Covid protocols still in place, there was no meal, just snacks. Early in the Spring, we got the news that Coach Sawyer had accepted a position in St. George, so West Jordan was losing him as a coach. Coach Wouden took over coaching the remaining Showtime games, and he was named Head Coach at the school. Game play continued on for the next few months. West Jordan had a full varsity team for the next year, so it was only seniors playing varsity in these games. Colton played Soph and JV.
The West Jordan team headed to St. George in June for the Crimson Cliffs Challenge (Colton wrote up his memories of that, see it HERE on the family blog). They'd had a car wash a little earlier to help raise funds for the trip. Thanks again to Berlin's for "adopting" Colton and getting him where he needed to be. The sad news about Coach Sawyer moving was eclipsed by tragedy, and there were several team gatherings in support of the family.
In July, Colton and the Wolves went to Vegas for a tournament there. Colton hurt his shoulder in the first game and wasn't really able to play, but he still had fun and was glad he had gone. In the Fall, the Wolves had more tournaments, while West Jordan started up their basketball clinic, having the gym available for play and practice in prep for tryouts in November. Colton was going to school at 6 am to shoot, then staying after for the clinic, then often staying later for school activities. A few times I did a Little Caesar run to keep the boys fed.
Here's the hoop highlights I have from the "off-season" ...
Covid was still a concern, but after a full year, it wasn't oppressive anymore. Most of the spectator limitations were lifted, but masks were still required at games. The vaccine was becoming available and finally, the mask requirement was lifted. There weren't any big basketball impacts (no Covid cancellations like last year). The rapid-testing that had been required during the official school season were not required for the off-season. Ticket prices for spectators kept going up ... the October tournament had a $25 entry fee for the two-day event.
High school basketball is a winter sport, and the previous season (Jan/Feb & early March2020) wrapped up before there were any Covid shutdowns. Colton went to watch many of the games and looked forward to trying out his upcoming freshman year. After Covid came, most tournaments were canceled, rules were changed (limited spectators, masks, etc) and everyone was on pins and needles wondering if the boys would even get a season at all.
November started up, and it was almost time for tryouts. The night before ... the Governor required a two-week shut-down. That was definitely a let down. But the moment it was allowed (two weeks later) a truncated tryouts happened (just two days instead of a week) and the season started. Colton made the team(s). Technically, all four. He was listed on the freshman team, but didn't play with them often, as freshman games were usually at the same time as the JV games. He was a starter on the sophomore team, and the JV team, and got a little bit of Varsity playing time ... he even started one game (see HERE). Each age had separate uniforms for home/away, and varsity had two away, blue and black. Colton had NINE different jersey sets! He got #5 for freshman, sophomore and JV, and #4 for Varsity (as a senior had already claimed #5).
... alas, the Christmas Tournament games didn't happen, at least not for West Jordan. Covid hit the team. A couple of Colton's teammates had it earlier in the year, most (all?) of the Varsity players tested positive over the holiday break. Several sophomores were out here and there. I often wondered if perhaps Colton was immune? He'd surely been exposed and around it a lot, but he stayed healthy. All the players seemed to recover quickly and completely.
I didn't make it to every game, but I went to most of them. I'd come to Sophomore and JV in person, and then I'd usually head home and watch the live stream of the Varsity game while I walked on the treadmill.
I'd try to make highlight reels, and #mycoltonclips (featuring just Colton's points, whereas the highlights got everyone's points, assists ... but I did miss much of the defense). It would be easy to get behind with so many games, so I would tend to focus on the wins, or ones where Colton had highlights, and then some of the video footage just ended up falling by the wayside.
I don't think I ended up making ANY videos of the few freshman games I had video for. I also didn't make any for Varsity. Here's a link to the SOPHOMORE PLAYLIST (7 games) and the JV PLAYLIST (5 games). Then I made a couple Colton Compilations ...
Colton's (Freshman) Sophomore Season Highlights
Colton's (Freshman) JV Season Highlights
Freshman Followup...
Colton (and Ethan and Carter) DID go play with the freshman in a President's Day tournament to wrap up the season. It was held at West High, and NO spectators were allowed (that is out of my drive zone, so I wouldn't have gone regardless). The games were streamed though (usually they weren't, as they were played in Aux gyms and on off days), and I was able to capture them. The first game against West (Freshman Game 1) was an easy win, then WJ had to face Bingham (Freshman Game 2)... the last game against them had been a loss, but here, WJ got the win and moved on to the championship game! Another rematch, against Mountain Ridge (Championship Game). In the previous three matchups, Mountain Ridge had walked away with the win. But not this one! It was super close and stressful until the buzzer beater end. Congrats to the Freshman team! A great way to finish up the season.
The West Jordan Varsity team had to face the #1 seeded team in the second round, and they got eliminated there. Westlake made it to the championship game as expected, but then there was an upset as Davis managed to get the win and take the title. West Jordan only had two seniors graduating, so here's hoping for a strong season next year with returning players. The Region boundaries are shifting again for next year as well (WJ had been shifted to pool with schools to the North/West, but next year will again face the tough competition to the South... back to Bingham, CHHS, etc).
The Freshman West Jordan team WAS going to play in a Spring League ... but it suffered from Covid Cancellation syndrome. The boys still got together a couple of times to play in the open air at the park. Then there was a clinic at the high school in June. Two sessions, one for 6th-9th, and one 10th-12th. The coach at the high school told Colton to attend with the older group. Monday/Wednesday from 1:00-2:30.
Colton got tapped to play a few games with the VARSITY team. It was at a non-Jen location and I wasn't sure how much playing time he'd really get, no video, but Colton had fun. Then there was the Rocky Mountain Showcase that the West Jordan team would be playing in. Colton was playing on the Freshman team. And the Sophomore team. Based on feedback from one of the Wolves parents who'd attended the BMJ just a week before, I gave this one a try. It was at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy. They were not charging admission for spectators this time (although we did have to fill out health forms/contact info, and had to wear masks the whole time. No drinking fountains available so I was sure to bring extra water).
There were more games, but I got a little behind, because, well, Colton had ELEVEN games in the first two days of the tournament! He didn't play any JV (those games were always at the same time as the sophomore games) but Coach Sawyer called on him to come play a little Varsity. But the fun didn't last. The tournament got cancelled because of Covid concerns. The kids had participated in a car wash fundraiser, but had still had to pay some for the tourney costs. These funds were refunded when the rest of the tournament wasn't able to continue.
School started up in August. With Covid concerns, online options were offered, and Colton did a duel approach. Four classes in person at Joel P, and then three classes online. This was actually done more for basketball reasons than for anything else. Now his afternoons were free, and he could attend the 4th period basketball class at the high school on A-days. Until the high school got shut-down for a two week quarantine. In September/October, Colton was playing on a couple WJ (Showtime) teams, Freshman and Sophomore (in addition to Wolves). The coaches tried to work with scheduling and ... NO conflicting games! Amazing! BUT, all the Sophomore games were in Utah County. I didn't make it to even one of those games (I did get some video from one of the other moms, so there is one set of Sophomore clips). The Freshman games were closer, so I made it to most of them, but still just got a couple highlight videos completed.
... after the summer clinic, there was "open gym" at the school in the months before basketball tryouts. A couple nights a week, the boys could go and play, and the coaches would watch and get to know the boys and their moves. Until Covid Cancellation of course ... the boys were lucky to get in as much as they did. Made it through the Fall season without cancellations too. Again, spectators were limited, teams had to wait outside until the game before was done and those teams had exited. Masks had to be worn. We were happy that the boys got to play though! Next up ... basketball tryouts and High School basketball!
In May, the Wolves started practicing again. Practices were at the Riverbend Event Center, and then practices were also at Lincoln Academy in Utah County. As these were locations Jen doesn't drive to, there was a lot of carpooling going on. There were some scrimmages, and then a few games ... all in Utah County, so again, no Jen, no video clips.
New Jerseys
In June - the boys went to Idaho for a tournament there.
The Berlin family let Colton tag along with them.
In July - It was the BIG MOUNTAIN JAM at the Mountain America Expo Center. Now, this IS a location I can drive to, it's just in Sandy, but they charge so much for spectators, and there are usually so many courts set up in the space that it's a little overwhelming with crowds and yelling and whistles. I have skipped games at this location before, and did so again. But Collin's mom Mai took video and got it to me, so I still made highlight reels and got to see the action. Here's Game #1, Game #2 and Game #3. Here's a spotlight on Colton from one of the games ...
After the Big Mountain Jam had its run, the Rocky Mountain Showcase was happening the next week at the same location (Colton would be playing in it with West Jordan) ... but it wouldn't make it. It was determined that someone with Covid had been there, and it had to shut down. Shortly afterward, we heard that one of the Wolves had tested positive, as had one of the parents of a West Jordan player. The Wolves did have one more summer tournament still ... another trip to Idaho (missing a couple of players).
The Wolves then played in a Fall League ... many games were too far South for me to make it to. The restrictions on spectators were pretty tight anyway, so Colton's carpool actually got to benefit, as each kid was only allowed ONE spectator/parent. With me not attending, both of Collin's parents would be able to watch. There were a couple of games closer, at Sport City, so I went to watch there, and have video highlights. September 12, 2020 and October 3, 2020.
Here's another set of Colton Clips ...
... and that wrapped up the Wolves. As traditional basketball season set in, the boys would be trying out for their school teams and hopefully be playing there for the next few months.
Well ... Covid-19 had been in the news, but it seemed a world away, not something that would affect us personally. Even when there were first reports of it appearing in the U.S. and even in Utah, it still didn't seem real. That all changed on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The boys were waiting for the game to start, but tip-off for the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder game had been delayed for unknown reasons. Then it was announced the game was off and everyone in the stadium needed to leave. Shortly after that, the news reported that Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for Covid-19. The NBA suspended all game play, and other sports followed. People were panic shopping, and there were soon shortages at the stores. School moved online that Friday. Everyone was encouraged to "Stay Home, Stay Safe" ... In the Family Update for February, I'd written about how Colton's West Jordan season had wrapped up, but that his Wolves were getting back together, and that basketball wouldn't be ending anytime soon ... I was wrong! The future was very uncertain.
Without basketball to play, or even watch ... the boys turned to some NBA-opoly. It's a real game, it's just old, and the teams are rather outdated. There was the "indoor hoop" play as well, until a dunk that was a little too-powerful broke it (we ordered a new one and the boys were back in business pretty quickly). Overall, I thought the Blackham Boys coped pretty well all things considered.
The NBA was back by July ... in a bubble. And local leagues were attempting play as well ...
There had been tryouts in the Fall. Colton had a couple friends he'd played with on the Showtime team in the fall that didn't make it, and he was sad about that. Carter, Tanek and Matt from Showtime made it, and Elijah and Jackson had played on the summer Showtime. Colton quickly clicked with the team though and they all became good buddies. Ryan Farmer, the 8th-grade coach from last year was coaching again.
Here's a couple clips reels highlighting just him ...
... but I got to all the games and made videos, except for the last one in each league. Those were losses and the boys were very down and I wasn't sure if they'd even be interested in reliving those ;)
It was a good season. They didn't win the championship, but won most of their games. I think I'll remember the controversy over Tanek being on our team. His family had moved into the Copper Hills boundaries a few years ago. He had been playing for CHHS, but after playing with Showtime in the fall and clicking with some people, he decided he would attend West Jordan for his high school years. It really wasn't that much of a stretch. His siblings were going there, as they'd lived in the WJ boundary before. Copper Hills however was not happy about the prospect of losing him and pushed the issue for the Bantam league. Tanek ended up making it official by switching schools (from Sunset Ridge to West Jordan Middle) in February. He'd planned on just finishing out the school year and then switching, but went through the rigamarole to make it legitimate for the season (CHHS still said our game against them before the switch, which we won, was a forfeit).
The boys were planning on playing a Spring AAU ...
I always said that Callahan didn't just LOVE basketball, but he LIVED basketball. After his Varsity season, as he's graduated from high school and moved onto life, with school/work/relationships, basketball did move to the background. But he still enjoys playing. I don't get to many of his games, but I hit a few here and there.
Here's a game from a while back ...
Spring of 2019 he played in the T-ville league - They got the T-shirts!
Summer of 2019 Cal joined some CHHS Alumni for the annual Alumni tournament. As most of Callahan's graduating class was gone (only Stockton was around) so they joined the 2016 graduating class, and the won the tournament!
Cal was having fun playing with some of the old crew again.
Dimple Dell League. Fall 2019.
Here's Highlights ...
Unfortunately ... Cal broke his foot (reminiscent of 8th grade!) the next week. So back to a boot for several weeks while he recovered. He is back on the courts though. Playing with his buddies some nights during the week, and planning on some competitive church ball. Maybe I'll go see him play.
This particular dress up (pictured above) was a school "sports" themed activity. He's got his Space Jam jersey (actually, it's Callahan's) and his sports socks. He always enjoys dressing up for themed events to cheer on the school. Senior year was filled with a lot of fun!
Another season with the Wolves ... but as all the boys except Colton are 9th graders, we'll probably lose some/all to high school teams shortly. So this was a great final season. Wolves were in the division 3 superleague, playing in the Saturday and weeknight leagues, and they won the championship in both! They had an undefeated season in the Saturday league. It was a struggle, as Colton had scheduling conflicts, and there were many injuries that had players out for weeks at a time. Some weeks, Wolves barely had five to play (and one week they played with four!)
... the Saturday league stats
Colton missed game 1 and game 4, as they were scheduled at the exact same time as his Showtime team. Sometimes times work out, but the scheduling gods were NOT in our favor this season.
Fall season, Coach Sawyer asked if Colton was available to play on Showtime again. Originally, Coach was thinking of one team, with 7th/8th graders, but ended up making a team for both grades. Colton had played with Ace, Lucas and Stephen on the Summer Showtime tournament. He knew Carter from last year's Jags team, and we pulled in Tannic from our Grizzly days. Add in a few other players (Jackson, Matt, Kaden) and it was a new team. Alas, Colton didn't speak up soon enough to get my coveted #5. He was #15 this season.
The boys had some group clinic times at the high school, but no specific team practices. They played in the Thursday night Superleague, and the Saturday Superleague. And unfortunately, those Saturday games were scheduled at the same time, or back-to-back with Colton's Wolves, so he was late or missing at a few games with both teams.
Here's a snapshot of the Thursday league (click to enlarge)
